100 Days Project
Choose one creative concept/idea that is both personally and universally beneficial or purposeful. Stay engaged and post on Instagram, repeat every day for 100 days. (Devised by Michael Bierut)
It all started with the question, “What’s your favorite color?”
I remember clearly- my answer was not pink or blue like my friends. When I was young, I wanted to stand out so I chose the color yellow.
Twenty years later, the color yellow takes me back to my childhood, the reasons I tried to be unique, and the journey to achieve the American dream. However, I also heard many stereotypes which made me start to distance myself from the color yellow. While attending an American high school, I discovered the stigma of being an Asian person whose skin is considered yellow and hearing insulting terms like “banana” and “twinkie”. With this special connection I have with the color yellow, for the hundred days project, I have chosen to dive into the anthropology behind the color yellow.
My project was featured in PRINT Magazine ! link
Idea
Deep research project in yellow + anthropology of yellow
@yellowasgold
Day 23
Around the world, many gods have an association with or are depicted in yellow. The Roman goddess, Ceres, the goddess of harvest and fertility was often shown in a yellow dress with a crown of wheat on her blonde hair.
In India, in tribute to the goddess Gauri and to celebrate the Indian New Year and Gangaur Festival, people usually wear saris in shades of yellow. The perfect deity in Hinduism, Krishna, is depicted with a yellow robe. The Lord Ganesha is also usually portrayed wearing red and yellow clothes. Here, yellow symbolizes purity, peace, and truthfulness.
Day 26
As mentioned in post 23, the Roman goddess, Ceres, wore a crown of wheat on her blonde hair. The Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, was also described as having blonde hair, which was associated with beauty and godliness. However, there are other meanings associated with blonde hair.
Roman prostitutes were said to dye their hair pale or to wear blonde wigs. They were ranked at the lowest level along with gladiators and actors in Rome. In ancient Greece, high-class prostitutes, called hetairai, bleached their hair using harmful mixtures like potsh water and the juice of yellow flowers. In the mid-eighteenth century, the first person identified as a dumb blonde was a French courtesan, Rosalir Duthé. Blonde hair has made quite a mark in our culture.
Day 59
When an Asian hears the word “banana” it does not only mean the fruit. When one calls an Asian person a “banana”, they’re saying that the person is very westernized. It is a sign of the westernization of Asians because bananas are “yellow” on the outside (Asian) and white on the inside (acting or becoming westernized). The insult is used to indicate a person with Asian roots who speaks English well, dresses like Americans, and adapts successfully to American culture.
Throughout the hundred days, this project has propelled me to explore the diverse meanings of this eye-opening color.